


Legends of the Four Seasons: A World of Darkness

by RedHorizon



Series: Legends of the Four Seasons [1]
Category: Frozen (2013)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-14
Updated: 2015-03-19
Packaged: 2018-03-17 19:39:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3541526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedHorizon/pseuds/RedHorizon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The prophecy of an ancient evil one will day awake and the guardians of the seasons will rise to defeat it is only a legend they tell children at night, Elsa has always known that. But when something magical happens to her on her eighteenth birthday, the peaceful life she's been living in will crumble. Elsa will learn that not only the legend is real, but also from that day, her fate has been sealed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Darkness Arising

**Author's Note:**

> Let me explain something to you so that you won't get confused while reading. In this story, Elsa and Anna are not royalties. I've always been wondering how it would have been if they weren't queen and princess, and then suddenly, in a beautiful day, the idea for the whole story just popped to my mind out of nowhere! Believe me, it happens. Also, in this fic, Elsa will be eighteen, Anna is sixteen and Kristoff nineteen. Elsa doesn't have powers, well, at least not yet, but we'll get to that later. I don't want to spoil anything. Everything will become clearer as the story goes.

In the west of Arendelle, deep within the embrace of the forest, was home of the trolls, a mythical creature that had resided in this valley for hundreds of years. It may seem all mythical and beyond belief, but I can assure you it was all the truth. It is said that trolls are dangerous, slow and dim-witted creatures who often dwell in the form of rocks and isolate themselves from human inhabitation. Well, they are only partly true.

Trolls, in fact, are the creatures of kindness and wisdom. They pose no threat or bear any ill-will toward human. They are simply beings of the earth like human, only with magical abilities of natures. The trolls seclude themselve from the human’s society only for a reason of protection, for they prefer the quiet and peaceful life away from the mundane of the world. Very few had dared to enter the valley, either not having enough courage to venture into the dark, mysterious forests, or scared of whatever lies the world had created about trolls, so very few knew about their existence. 

Trolls are one of the very rare creatures on earth that were blessed with magic – the power of the earth. It wasn’t one of the strongest powers, but undoubtedly one of the most beautiful. They are able to make plants glow, to make flowers bloom, revive the dead and heal wounds with their power. They could also sense magic from miles away, and even see glimpses of the past, presence and future, but only elder trolls with great experience and wisdom can have access to such ability.

Pabbie, respectfully known as Grand Pabbie, was the leader of the troll clan in Bjargskogr, or the Forest of the Rocks, a wise, kind and powerful elder troll, beloved and respected by all members of the clan. He had lived very long, much longer than a human’s lifetime. He had seen and experienced many things in his life, had watched many things going on in this very world, had seen the mountains and rivers change with times, and even encountered with magic – great, powerful magic – for several occasions. But never before had he seen such thing as the storm raging on the sky tonight.

Loud booms of thunder were rolling across the low, dark sky and through the dense clouds, roaring vigorously. Lightning struck, ripping the monochromantic sky into halves. The wind was howling and whipping in the air, swaying the forest violently, as if wanting to raze everything to the ground. The earth was rumbling and quivering vigorously. The young trolls cowered at the sight of the ominous storm, whimpering in fear.

“Fret not, young ones,” Pabbie reassured. “It’s just a thunderstorm. It’s nothing uncommon in Arendelle in such time as this.”

“But this is different, Grand Pabbie,” a young troll said. “This storm seems so scary, and it frightens us.”

“Yeah, it’s really scary,” the others nodded in agreement.

Pabbie looked up at the sky with a pensive frown. The children were right. There was indeed something odd, something unusual about this storm. They had felt it, and he felt it, too. Since the moment it began, he had sensed something not right about this strange storm. It had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, dark, thick clouds rushing on the sky, blocking the bright sunlight away. The earth was stirring, and it was becoming clearer and clearer. The storm continued to pick up, thunder hollering in the sky and wind screaming in the air. The ground beneath them shook violently as if it was going to crack. The children screamed in terror, even the adult trolls were frightened at such horrible storm. Everyone had to brace themselves in order not to fall or collide into each other. They were astonished and terrified at the rage of the Gods.

“Such a strange storm,” a female troll commented. She walked up beside Pabbie, following his gaze to the furious sky above. Another thunder boomed, nearly shaking the sky, and the troll trembled.

“Yes, it is,” Pabbie replied.

“I’ve never seen anything like this before,” she continued. “This storm is so unusual, unlike the normal thunderstorms we’ve seen before.”

Indeed, this was no normal thunderstorms. Thunderstorms didn’t stir the earth so vigorously like this, or make even the mightiest mountains tremble at its fury. Pabbie could also sense a great surge of magic in this storm, a dark, and extremely dangerous magic, one that had nearly destroyed the whole world a very long time ago, one that had been locked away, one that he had witnessed before and wished to never have to see it again. But it was nearly impossible, for he knew it would one day awake from its centuries-long slumber, and that day had come.

“I feel nothing good about this storm. Do you think it means something, Pabbie?” the female troll asked.

“It has begun,” Pabbie said quietly.

“What has begun, Pabbie?” a male troll rolled toward the two and asked.

“The Dark Lord has returned,” the elder troll informed gravely.

Gasps of shock and horror escaped every member of the clan. Every troll knew about Ragnvaldr, the Dark Lord, and they knew better than all that this person could only bring the world death and destructions.

“It can’t be!” a troll whispered, fear written in his eyes.

“It is bound to happen,” Pabbie said with a sigh, “Though I had wished it wouldn’t come so soon. But who am I to question the Gods!”

He turned toward the female troll whom he was having a brief conversation with earlier, his expression suddenly became stern and serious. 

“Bulda,” he called. “We must awake the guardians. It is time. You know what to do.”

“Of course, Grand Pabbie,” Bulda replied. “But… the four of them are separated now, in different places. They don’t even know each other, or of their destiny.”

“Fate will bring them together and lead them here. Then, they will know who they truly are, and what they are destined for.”

Bulda nodded, retreating into her rock form and hastily rolled away, until she reached a clearing that lay in the murky depths of the woods, protected by a barrier like a dome created by troll’s magic. She quickly transformed back, clasping her hands together in front of her chest and muttered a few words in a strange language. The barrier opened briefly for her to enter then quickly closed itself behind her. In the center, there was a large, flat stone with four symbols about the size of a human’s hand carved on it. Each had a different colour – gold, blue, red and green – with a different meaning and each representing a different person.

Bulda took a deep breath and approached the stone. She closed her eyes, her hands kept firmly clasped at her chest. She began to murmur some spells. Gradually, the symbols on the stone glowed, and a surge of magic started to swirl around her and the stone. Her murmurs grew louder and louder with each second passing, and the four symbols started glowing brighter, the wind picking up. All of a sudden, the troll thrust her hands up above her head, finishing the spell with a loud cry. A ray of light burst out from the gold symbol and shot up to the sky, soon followed by three others. The lights entwined with each other for a moment, then separated in four different directions. A smile formed at the troll’s lips as she watched the lights flying away.

“Awake, Guardians of Four Seasons, for darkness is arising. The world needs your help,” Bulda whispered. She shifted her gaze at the direction where the golden light – the first light – had taken. “Find the others. They all will need you as their guide and their leader… guardian of autumn.”


	2. Home

A young woman leisurely walked along the trail in the forest carrying a basket in her arm, a satchel on her shoulder. A smile formed on her lips as she hummed happily to herself, her cerulean admiring the beauty of her surroundings. Rays of warm sunlight pierced through the canopies of the trees, complimenting her ivory skin and shining on the long chocolate brown hair she had neatly combed and styled into a tight bun. A maroon cloak was draped over her slender form. She wore a cream-coloured shirt with sleeves running along her arms until just past her elbows, a black bodice with gold trim that hugged her upper-body perfectly, a dark brown skirt that reached the middle of her calves and an old pair of black leather boots covered in dirt and mud from her trip.

Winter had faded away, allowing spring to take full reign on the land. Plants were growing and flowers blossoming, the hues of the spring bloom blending with the green of the leaves, creating a beautiful and perfect picture of a spring wonderland. There was still a hint of cold lingering in the air, but it wasn't the bitter, freezing coldness of the harsh winter nights, but a sweet, delicious cold mingling with the soothing warmth of spring. As much as she loved the cold feels of the winter wind and how perfectly the pure white snow layered the whole ground for the last months of the year, Elsa found the warmth of spring rather enjoyable. For her, to watch nature awaking from a long, deep slumber and to watch the life once again filling the earth was nothing short of amazing.

The day was beginning to fade, the sun had started to retreat back into the mountains, and Elsa found herself quickening her steps. She was merely gone for two days and had already felt so homesick – she was rarely away from home for too long and had spent most of her life in her little village in the small, beautiful valley. But this time, matters of business had compelled her to travel to another town. She had a horse back at home, of course, but unfortunately, the stallion had broken its leg three days ago, and it was unlikely to borrow a steed from anyone at such busy time of the year, so she had no choice but to walk there and leave the house in her sister's charge. She had been travelling on foot for the whole day, and her legs were sore, but her work had been completed and it was worth it. Now, Elsa was more than eager to be home with her little sister again, and the thought of it only had urged her steps to go faster, so she may reach home before the night descended.

And when she caught sight of her home, a grin broke out on Elsa's lips. It was a small cottage with ivy-covered roof standing on the side of a hill on the edge of the village, separate from other residents in the area, but not excluding itself from civilization. Her parents had built the cottage here for desiring a quiet, peaceful life away from the public, but still kept contact with the world. There was also a small garden always full of the bright colours of various plants and flowers, just to add more beauty to their lovely home. Pine trees grew around the house, like a bridge connecting them to the world of nature just behind them, but also a strong, tall fence to protect them from dangers. There wasn't much, but to Elsa and her sister Anna, it was their little wonderland.

Nothing that there a column of smoke coming out from the chimney, Elsa knew that Anna was home, perhaps preparing dinner for both of them. She guessed that her sister might be planning something to welcome her home. The two had never been separated for a single moment since they were young children, so even though Elsa had only been gone for two days, it was agony.

"Home at last!" the young woman breathed out a sigh of relief and started running towards the house, despite her legs being extremely sore. As Elsa reached the gate, she pushed it open with such eagerness that she was close to knocking it off the hinges, but thankfully still managed to remember to close it behind her, before rushing her way to the front entrance of the house. She stood panting on the front porch for a moment, in order to catch her breath. A side-glance to the right, she could see through the window glass the warm, illuminating light of the fire in the hearth in the living room, confirming that her sister was presently at home. Without any further thought, she turned the doorknob and pushed the wooden door open, entering the cosiness of her home.

Immediately as she stepped into the house, Elsa was warmly greeted by her loyal friend, a little too warm, actually. A large black dog barked happily and wagged its tail vigorously before jumping toward her and almost knocking the young woman off her feet. Elsa knelt down to its level and stroked the dog's head, a fit of laughter and squeals elicited from her as the creature stood on its hint legs and clamped its forelegs on her shoulders, licking her frantically all over her face and neck.

"Olaf! Stop it! It tickles," she said playfully and lightly pushed the dog away. It continued to wag its tail and barked merrily at her.

"Yes, I've missed you too, buddy," she stroked its head lovingly. Chuckling lightly at the dog – who was as much energetic as its owner, her younger sister – Elsa stood up and looked around the room, ignoring Olaf who was still jumping up and down excitedly around her legs.

Everything looked the same, from the stone fireplace in the middle of the wall across the room, to the two old armchairs and couch in front of it. Her mother's rug was still there on the floor; the flower vase which was a Christmas gift from her deceased grandmother was still sitting on the coffee table, although the bright red roses weren't there to show off their beauty anymore, but was replaced by the natural beauty of wild orchids. The picture of the whole family when their parents were alive was still hung on the wall above the fireplace, an honourable position in the room – the house, to be exact. Her father's old hunting gun still remained on the wall to the left – it was no longer usable, but he kept it anyway, perhaps because it had become a friend so dear to him. Elsa and her sister would regularly bring it down to wipe the dust from it. They kept it as a reminder of him, and cherished it as much as the family's old sword which had been passed down from generation to generation, now held a respectful position on the wall to the left, across from the old shot gun.

Elsa closed her eyes and inhaled deeply the delicious smell of food coming from the kitchen – it was obvious now that Anna had been preparing a special dinner – listening to the faint cracking sound of firewood in the hearth, embracing the sweet, cosy feel of her small cottage, and simply enjoying the relief, the happiness to be home.

Olaf suddenly released a bark and snapped his head toward the door to the left of the room that led to the kitchen, which was also the dining room. This caused Elsa to turn her head and follow the dog's gaze, as she seemed to have realised what – or, to be exact, who – Olaf had sensed.

"Elsa? You're home?" a voice sounded, mixed with surprise and happiness, and at the same time, a girl came into the room through the door. She looked a few years younger than Elsa, and had strawberry blonde hair, close to the colour of fire, braided into two plaits resting on either of her shoulders. She wore a light green blouse, light brown corset and a moss-green skirt that reached the middle of her shins. Her eyes had similar colour to Elsa's, but had a hint of green in it. There was a light brush of freckles on her small nose and rosy cheeks, but it was hardly visible in the firelight.

"Anna?" Elsa breathed, finding herself to be speechless upon seeing her younger sister. There was a stretch of silence between the two siblings before Elsa placed her basket down on the floor beneath her and the two rushed toward each other in a blinding speech, wrapping one another in a crushing embrace.

"Oh my God, you're home! You're back! I've missed you so much!" Anna exclaimed happily.

"And I've missed you dearly, little sister!" Elsa laughed, hugging the strawberry blonde haired girl tightly. Olaf seemed to understand the sisters and barked happily, jumping about the room and panting rapidly in excitement.

"I knew you would return, so I've planned out a special dinner for both of us!" Anna grinned, pulling away from her sister's embrace.

"Oh, Anna, you don't have to! Being home with you again is simply enough," Elsa gave her sister an affectionate smile.

"But I want to do something special for you!" Anna protested. "Besides, I'm almost done, so there's no turning back anymore."

Elsa sighed and shook her head in defeat. "You're not going to let me get anywhere with this, are you? Well, I guess I have no choice but to accept it then."

"What can I say? I am very persistent. So how was the trip?" Anna asked.

"It was good, better than I expected. Oh, right, I forgot." Remembering her basket, Elsa picked it up from where she had left it and handed to her sister. "I visited Kai and Gerda this morning, and they invited me for lunch. They also gave us some berry and almond pies, which I'm sure you'd love. Gerda's pies are the best."

Anna accepted the basket, which appeared to be quite heavy, and lifted the layers of cloth, her eyes widening and a gasp escaping her lips as she saw how much the kind old couple had given them. Kai and Gerda had been close friends of her family for years, and were something very close to their grandparents. After the death of their parents, the two had taken the responsibilities of taking care of the two girls upon themselves until Elsa was old enough to be able to look after her younger sister and herself. But Kai and Gerda would still pay occasional visits to the two Nordfjell daughters to check up on them and make sure that they were alright.

"She didn't have to send us this much," Anna said. "This could be enough for us to eat in a week!"

"I know. That's what I said to them, but they insisted."

Anna sighed. "They're too good to us. I don't know how we're going to repay them for their kindness." Settling the basket in her arms, she continued with a bright, excited smile on her lips, "So, how was it like? The world beyond this small village must be incredible! You must tell me everything about it!"

"Of course, but… I'll fill you in with the details later. For now, I think I need to clean myself up first," Elsa smiled.

"That sounds perfect. And besides, I just swept the floor, so we can't have you spilling all the mud and dirt on it, now can we? I'll prepare the rest of the dinner while you go and freshen yourself up." She turned to the dog beside her legs and blew a whistle. "Come on, Olaf." The door perked up and rushed toward her side. Smiling happily, Anna bounced back to the kitchen with the basket in her arms, with Olaf following closely behind. Elsa chuckled at her energetic sister. Sixteen years old, turning into a young woman already, but it would seem that Anna wouldn't grow up just yet, and Elsa found that she preferred it that way. The younger girl had been the spirit of this house, always lightening the mood up even in the darkest, most depressing times – the source of Elsa's joy.

Then, realising that she still had her cloak on, the young woman swiftly removed the heavy fabric from her shoulders and hung it carefully on the coat-hanger before heading upstairs for her room. It was small and simple with quite little furniture in it, but to Elsa, that was enough. She never wanted to stay in a large room anyway. Being alone in such large space would make her feel so lonely.

As she entered her bedroom, Elsa quickly removed her mud-covered boots and stripped out of her dress. That had been her finest dress, and now it was close to a dirty mess. Travelling from her village to another town through the forest had not been so pleasant when she had to go there on foot, and especially when she was a young woman with so little experience of the world beyond her home village, but in truth, she had looked forward to it and wished that she would have a chance to travel more, escape this place and go on an adventure.

Dismissing her thoughts, the young woman fixed her eyes toward a corner of the room, and a smile crept up her lips as she saw her sister had already filled her basin with water that was still warm, and a towel for her to wash up.

"Bless you, Anna," Elsa smiled fondly, grateful that she was blessed to have such a caring sister.

After freshening herself up from head to toe, Elsa quickly put on a much simpler outfit than what she had been wearing, with a grey blouse, black bodice and brown skirt, and replaced her muddy boots with a pair of shoes with the colour of chestnut brown. The fabric of her clothes was slightly worn out, but still good and comfortable, which she was grateful for.

She released her hair from its bun, which had become slightly messy after her windy trip back, and let the long, soft chocolate waves flow down her back. Grabbing the hairbrush from her nightstand, she came to stand in front of the large rectangular mirror next to it, and started smoothing the tangles in her hair, then carefully styled it into a braid that hung behind her back. After, giving one last look at her reflection in the mirror to make sure that she was presentable enough – after all dinner tonight had become a very important affair, thanks to Anna – Elsa nodded to herself then exited her room.

When she stepped into the kitchen, she was immediately swarmed with the wonderful, savory scent of cooked foods, and it made her stomach grumble loudly. Now that Elsa noticed. She hadn't eaten a crumb since this noon, and was starving already. But perhaps she was too earnest to go home that all her tiredness and hunger was ignored and forgotten.

Olaf, who had been lying on the floor beside one leg of the table, instantly perked up and panted frantically in joy as it spotted her. She gave the pet a smile then diverted her eyes toward her sister Anna, who was ladling out a bow full of hot soup from the pot, clearly unaware of her arrival. Elsa watched as the young girl placed the plate of boiled vegetables atop her head before scooping the large bowl of soup in her arms and started carrying both toward the table with difficulties. Elsa stifled her chuckle and decided to help her before she dropped them all.

Anna yelped in surprise as the plate on her head was suddenly taken away and whipped her head around. She sighed in relief, knowing that was only Elsa and placed the bowl of soup on the wooden dining table.

"You scared the hell out of me," she chided lightly.

"Sorry," Elsa said with a grin, putting the plate down, "But better that than letting you spill all your hard work on the floor."

"You would rather risk the chance of me having a heart attack than these foods being dropped on the floor?" Anna gasped dramatically.

"Of course," Elsa smiled mischievously back, sitting down on her chair at the table, with her sister following suit. "I'm such a kind and caring older sister like that."

"Sure you are," the younger girl rolled her eyes playfully, a broad grin still lingering on her lips. "Come on. Let's eat before these foods all cool off!" she said and started digging in.

"Right on time, I'm famished." Elsa nodded in agreement and began nibbling on the food in her plate. "So how have you been doing while I was gone?"

Anna swallowed her food before replying, "Not much, actually. I tried to keep myself busy with the chores, playing with Olaf, but without you and Kristoff, everything seemed so dull, and I sometimes got lonely."

Elsa sipped her water and frowned, her brows furrowed pensively. It wouldn't have been that bad for Anna had she had more friends. But it was somewhat Elsa's fault, actually. Nearly everyone in this town despised her, because of her strange personality and because of her unusual job, so in result, they hated Anna. Well, save for the children, of course – they adored the two sisters for their sweet and gentle personalities. But the closets ones they had to a friend were their dog and Kristoff, their neighbour.

Kristoff Bjorgman was, as he told them, originally from the west, but he moved to this town a couple of years ago, though he still kept contact with his family and regularly paid them a visit. They didn't know much about this family, just that he loved them very much, and it was an extended family. The man was a year older than Elsa, and an ice harvester – an occupation quite common in this area, given that the mountains in the north of Arendelle were eternally encased in ice, a privilege for the ice business. Kristoff was a little awkward and clumsy, much like Anna, but very kind and sweet. He was their best friend, and the one Elsa trusted most to look after her younger sister.

Kristoff and Elsa were all Anna had left – well, besides Olaf. Elsa could understand the loneliness her little sister had to endure when both of them were gone for business.

"So," Anna's voice cut her off her thoughts, "What about you, sister? You must tell me everything!" An excited squeal escaped the redhead. "How did everything go? How was the world outside the town? Was it gorgeous, or was it even better?"

Elsa laughed, holding up a hand. "Calm down, Anna! I'll tell you everything."

Anna giggled and bounced in her chair, looking at her sister eagerly like a child waiting for its bedtime story.

"Then go on! Don't make me wait!" she urged.

The older girl chuckled, "Of course, of course." A smile graced her lips and she leaned forward slightly, eyes locked with her sister as she began telling the redheaded girl her story, the two sister spending the whole evening talking with one another until they had to give into fatigue and exhaustion and had to reluctantly retire for the night.

 

 

 


End file.
